"The View"

THE VIEW

I wonder whether even the experienced mountaineer

Sometimes stands atop the summit

And sighs to think

That he’s seen it all before:

Just another valley down below.

Just another ridgeline.

Just another endless sea of mountains.

Does he feel as if he’s climbed them all before somehow,

As if experience after accumulated experience

Has blended into one—

A single scene,

Still beautiful,

Still worth the exertion,

But bereft of uniqueness—

More geological curiosity

Than emotional attachment?

Well, I’m no mountaineer,

But I climb.

I love to amble to the top

Like some old billy goat

And drink in the pasture of possibilities.

If ever I have taken for granted

The view,

I will no more.